Freedom
by Hahnna
Summary: Captured by Bowser for the umpteenth time, Peach realizes how weak and helpless she really is. Couldn't do anything against the kidnap... and she wanted to change that. -Oneshot-


Disclaimer: I don't own Mario.

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**Freedom**

Baby blue eyes stared out angrily from her cage. She couldn't believe this. It was the same every time.

She stared at the gray floor of her dusty, human sized birdcage, bringing her knees up to her chin and hugging her legs closer. Before her stood Bowser, laughing that obnoxious, deep roar-like laugh of his. The one she always heard whenever he caught her and was drawing out his plan to obliterate Mario once and for all.

This time when he tried to capture her, she struggled in protest. It wasn't that she didn't normally fight against it – she always did.

But this time she _really_ didn't want to be captured. She had pounded her fists on his shell, kicked at his covered stomach, and even screamed obscenities into his ear... but it only earned her two broken toes and a bruise on her hand.

She switched her gaze from the floor to her gloved hand. After a while of staring at it, she stretched it out and gingerly pulled off her long gloves, revealing a black and blue spot on her hand. It was then that she noticed for the first time how perfect her hands were. Unmarred (save for the bruise) and soft, they were perfectly silky without the slightest hint that she had to do any manual labor.

She clenched her hand, glowering at it. After a few seconds, she shoved her hand back into her glove moodily and continued to glare at the floor.

'_If only I had taken combat lessons… Then Mario and Luigi wouldn't have to worry about saving me so often,'_ she grumpily thought.

Apparently, Bowser had noticed her little tantrum in the corner and came over to accompany her.

"Princess!" he roared, a toothy grin on his face. "Don't fret! Soon, you and I will be married!"

He looked down from his declaration to see her reaction.

Peach, however, didn't say anything. She just gave him a defying look as always, her miserable aura almost making her look physically different from her normal self.

Unsure what to do, Bowser stares at her, sweat starting to form on his forehead. When it came to women, he was just… clueless.

So he went to the topic that he thought would make her happier. "F-For the wedding, I think we should have white decorations, with lots of guests! All of Mushroom Kingdom will be there to witness the wedding of their new king – me!"

He let out his infamous laugh again, hands proudly situated on his hips.

Peach was ready to yell at him, to tell him that Mario and Luigi would surely save her… but her mood darkened even more at that thought. She wasn't strong enough to hold her own against Bowser. Not strong enough to escape. Every time the Koopa captured her… it was the same.

A question suddenly popped into her mind. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought and she unconsciously loosened her tight hold on her legs. She turned to stare at the spiked koopa, her gaze calculating.

Of course, Bowser noticed this and took a step back in surprise. Princess Peach had never shown any interest in him. _Ever_. So when he saw that she was staring at him, he didn't know what to do for the second time that day.

What was making his princess act so strange?

He could handle her shouting, her taunting… but he'd never experienced this side of her before. Was this a step further in their relationship?

His mouth opened again, ready to roar out something egotistic, but Peach spoke first. "Why do you always kidnap me?"

Bowser was thrown off by that question and had to think about what she said for a second. "B-Because I want to make you my wife!"

"Why?"

"You're Princess Toadstool! Together, we can rule the kingdom!"

Pink lips frowned.

"… Is that the only reason?"

"Of course not! You're drop dead gorgeous!"

"And…?"

Bowser retreated there, scratching his head, trying to think whatever else he liked about her. Another thought came to him.

"You're submissive!"

Peach scowled at that. Back to her old weakness, huh. She pulled her legs back up and buried her face in her knees.

"Alright. Thanks for answering, King Koopa," she said, her voice slightly muffled by her dress.

"Anything for you, future wife!"

"How about you let me go?" she muttered, which went unheard since Bowser went back to his surveillance screens, watching for Mario.

Peach sighed, her head pillowed on the layers of her spotless pink dress. She contemplated escape, and after a while of jumping back and forth on the idea, she decided to at least try. No point wallowing in self pity any longer.

She looked around for the cage door and found it sealed with a lock. Did she have anything sharp enough to pick it?

She fumbled around I her hair, trying to find if she had any hairpins.

Nope.

She searched in the concealed pockets of her dress and found nothing small enough to fit into the lock. She even took off her red high heels, trying to fit the sharp-ish end into the lock.

She heard a soft click and a delighted smile bloomed on her face. For once, she loved the fact that her feet were so small.

If we lived in a perfect world, then on days like these, cage doors would open without a squeak. High heels would make no noise as they walked across cement floors. And shoes that were jammed into locks would come right back out freely without any objection.

Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and neither does Peach.

So when she tried to pull out the end of her shoe from the lock, it wouldn't budge. She could twist It, but she couldn't pull it out. No matter how hard she yanked at it, it wouldn't move. Frustrated, she gave it a powerful pull, using her own body weight against it. With a _snap_, the heel of her shoe broke off.

She let out a frightened squeal as she was sent tumbling back, broken shoe in hand.

Bowser turned around with a snort, wondering what kind of mischief his princess was getting into now. All he saw was a sleeping princess, muttering in her sleep. He shrugged and turned back to the screen.

"Come and get your precious Peach, Mario!" he growled at the computers.

A powder blue eye cracked open, making sure that the koopa was looking in the other direction. Princess Toadstool pushed herself up as quietly as she could, breathing out a silent sigh of relief that Bowser didn't see the red end of her shoe in the lock.

She proceeded to push against the door and froze when it made a creak of protest. She squeezed her eyes shut, cursing the door. Taking a deep breath, she readied herself and quickly opened the door as fast as she could. No sound, but it was wide open.

Peach mentally jumped in joy and put a foot outside the cage. She then jumped out, her shoe making a loud clacking noise against the concrete. Her blood stilled, but fortunately for her, at the same time Bowser had let out a loud, evil laugh.

"I FOUND YOU, MARIO!"

He then busied himself with moving the levers below the computer around, springing as many traps as he could on his nemesis.

The Princess breathed out a sigh of relief, took off her shoe, picked up her dress so that it wouldn't make shuffling noises, and crept out of the room, breaking into a run when she was out of his sight. She skillfully weaved her way in and out of hallways and secret passages – she was captured so much that she pretty much memorized Bowser's castle. Thanks to that, she didn't meet any guards or anything, blending in the shadows of the passages… though it took a lot of skill because it was hard to hide in bright pink.

Soon enough, she was out in the sunshine again. She looked down at her raw feet, let go of her dress so that it skimmed the ground again, and she laughed in merriment.

_She did it_.

She turned around to observe the ominous castle again, remembering that Mario and Luigi were inside. Her foot took a step forward, wanting to help… but then she shook her head.

'_They'll be fine. They're always fine.'_

With that, she started to make her way towards her own castle, with plans of taking karate lessons in mind.


End file.
